7 – ASUS EAH6870 Power consumption

For the power consumption, I used FurMark 1.8.2 and the upcoming FurMark 1.9.0 (will be release shortly). The graphics workload in the new FurMark 1.9.0 has been increased, leading to more power consumption and GPU temperature.

The total power consumption of the testbed in idle is 105W (with the EAH6870).

In the Xtreme burn-in test of FurMark 1.8.2 (1024×768 windowed mode), the GPU temperature reached a maximum of 82°C. The total power consumption was 268W. The Corsair AX1200 PSU has an efficiency factor of around 0.9 (see this article, there is a graph of the AX1200 efficiency). The power consumption of the EAH6870 is given by:
P = (268-105) * 0.9P = 147 watts

ASUS EAH6870 stressed by FurMark 1.8.2

Power consumption by graphics card (card alone, not the whole system):

Power: 272W – EVGA GTX 480

Power: 185W – ATI Radeon HD 5870

Power: 147W – ASUS EAH6870

Power: 135W – MSI N460GTX Cyclone 768D5 OC

In FurMark 1.9.0, the GPU temperature reached a max value of 86°C for a total power consumption of 276W:
P = (276-105) * 0.9P = 154 watts

ASUS EAH6870 stressed by FurMark 1.9.0

ASUS EAH6870, FurMark 1.9.0 stats

Radeon HD 6800 expose the GPU current sensor and GPU-Z is able to read it. Under FurMark 1.9.0, the GPU current of the EAH6870 was 71 amperes. Under a voltage of 1.172V, the GPU power consumption is:
P_GPU = 1.172 * 71P_GPU = 83W

The total power consumption of the EAH6870 is 154W and while the GPU one is 83W. The difference, 154-83 = 71W, is the power consumption of the rest of the board (memory and VRM).

The TDP of a HD 6870 reference board is 151W. FurMark is really tough with graphics cards and even if the EAH6870 reached 154W, the card was very stable and rather quiet.